Interestingly, my wife said that she got something from my sermon on Sunday that I wasn’t trying to communicate.  I said “interestingly,” but perhaps I should have used the word “ironically.” Except that I’m sure such a thing happens all the time.

While speaking on the first Sunday of Advent, I was expounding on Joseph. How he was described as a righteous man. Was unwilling to humiliate Mary publicly when he thought her pregnant by another man.  The phrase that spun my better half in another direction was, “God chose wisely when He entrusted the watchcare of His Son to such a man.”

Bonnie, struck by the difficulty of Joseph’s situation, realized that he was in that situation because he was trustworthy.  And in that moment she was grateful for the bangs, crashes, jolts and thuds we’ve faced, realizing that God has considered us faithful enough to be assigned the bumpy road.

For this to occur, we must trust that God knows what He is doing.  Easier said than done, for most of us.

While preaching last Sunday I found myself in a moment of exuberance and great love for my church. Arriving at the moment with great passion, I spouted out the statement, “The Lord willing, I intend to pastor here until I die.”

I was intending to show my affection and commitment to Skelly Drive.

Later that day a church member told me I shouldn’t say that anymore because it wasn’t safe.

“Not safe?” I inquired.

Turns out she was afraid the statement might motivate someone to hire a hit man. ;)

Yep, it’s pretty blunt, but not mean spirited.

Jesus didn’t always use parables, but much of His communication concerning the Kingdom was done through story telling.  “The Kingdom of God is like…”

If you are a preacher, do you use parables when you preach?  Are you a story teller?

If you aren’t a preacher, do you like it when the sermon includes stories?  Do they help you understand the point?

The holidays are here and that means plenty of opportunities to focus the topics of your sermons on things seasonal.  Do you?

I avoid sermons based on holidays like the plague – no Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, 4th of July, etc.  I just think that you can only say so much in a sermon aimed at a holiday before you begin to repeat yourself the next year or two.  Then you have to fight to be original.

The exception?  For me, Easter and Christmas.  In fact, I do Advent.  Four sermons targeted at the coming of Christ and what it reveals about God and it starts next week, the 30th of November.

Am I schizophrenic, or is there a method to the madness?

What about you?